Los Angeles Lakers: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

4. LeBron endears himself to Los Angeles

When he signed on, expectations for LeBron James in Los Angeles were through the roof. Not only was this a city and an organization accustomed to winning championships, but it was clear LBJ would have to earn the respect and admiration of a fanbase with the highest of standards.

Prior to the Lakers’ Dec, 5 matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, the team had struggled somewhat late in games, mostly due to the free throw struggles of James, who missed two free throws in the final seconds of an eventual loss to San Antonio earlier in the season, as well as two bricks from the stripe in the same situation in a lucky victory over Atlanta.

Lakers fans were not impressed. This was an era of loyalists built on the play of Kobe Bryant, whose late-game heroics are the stuff of legend in Los Angeles and who seemingly always stepped up and made his free throws — especially to close out a game.

So, against the Spurs, LeBron did his best to change their minds with a performance that would make the Mamba proud, scoring 42 points — including 20 in the games final frame — to lead L.A. to a 121-113 victory, stretching its winning streak at the time to four games and its record to an encouraging 15-9.

In watching the game, you could see the two sides forming a relationship with every made shot, with James playing to the crowd and the crowd happy to shower him with admiration. It was the first real sign of appreciation from the fans at Staples Center, the initial step in building a bond that will hopefully only grow bigger with time.